Badgemaster – Promoting Your Business on a Minimal Budget

Many businesses do consider how they are going promote a smart marketing campaign, but many don’t necessarily think about the specific ways they can promote their business cost-effectively. Every business should be considering three fundamental factors: purpose, audience, and form. For example, ask yourself: what is the purpose of this campaign? What demographic are you trying to target? Finally, in what format are you going to present your campaign?

Analysing your budget, and knowing that your finances can cover your marketing strategy, is crucial when time means money – especially in trying financial times. We all know that every business has its limitations; your business should identify how it will produce an effective campaign within a limited timescale and budget. With the help of Badgemaster, specialising in name badges, we have produced this common-sense advice to help any budding entrepreneur or CEO gain the rewards from inexpensive but effective promotional strategies.

Check the performance of your website

It doesn’t matter whether your business works in digital or physical markets, if you’re selling a product or service then you need a website. Some businesses don’t have one, but we do suggest that in an age where all media is accessible by digital methods, it is certainly better to be online.

You may be thinking, ‘yes my business already has a website, box ticked.’ Although your website is operational, what is it doing for you and is it generating enough traffic? Branding is key. Are you turning potential clients into long-term profits through effective branding on your site? As well as this, does your website direct customers to perform particular actions? For example, are they being directed to purchase a new product that you are currently promoting? Remaining relevant within a Google search is crucial, to retain and accumulate more traffic – ensure that keywords related to your products and services are explicit throughout the site’s layout.

Rely more on Google

If you haven’t already, give Google advertising a try. It may seem like a cheap and unoriginal way of gaining revenue through online traffic, but believe us, it is a reliable way of producing the most results from a fairly minimal investment. Relating to your brand’s product or service, you can utilise a search query that will lead potential customers to a text advert displaying what you sell. If this seems complicated, then let us break this down for you. If you were, for example, a supplier of men’s shoes – then you could produce an advert that will be displayed when someone searches for ‘Leather Brogue’. What’s even better is that you’re only billed when your advert is clicked, making Google ads a reliable low-risk tool within your marketing strategy.

PR isn’t all digital

Digital methods of advertising are, of course, essential within a cutting-edge campaign; however, sending out content to journalists is still a great way of gaining attention outside of the online realm. Make sure that your business is sending content to local and national print services. Also, engage in more charity work and invest in your local community; doing this will gain you recognition in the local press. Boosts in recruitment, charity events and local investments are all suitable way of gaining positive acknowledgement towards your brand identity, resulting in more profits.

These methods are all well and good, but remember, if your campaign plan does not include one of the five W’s, then you have planned to fail. Who, what, where, when and why are equally important when relaying the message of your campaign to national and local press. As well as the W’s, provide the human element within your marketing strategy. Allowing employees to share their positive working experiences with journalists is a great way of advertising your brand within an ethical framework.

Is your business a social butterfly?

Don’t be shy if your business is not on social media; Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are steady platforms to advertise your brand within a post-digital age. In the US alone, the total cost of social-media advertising was estimated at $31 billion, with this set to rise in 2017 to $35 billion this year, so it’s important that your business is investing in this new potential sector of the market demographic. Always remember, make sure that your platforms are regularly updated, because if you don’t, your business in a digital sense will fall on deaf ears.